Med mal -- initiatives, bills, big study by insurance comm'r

The Seattle Times has an article about Initiatives 330 and 336 -- plus a sidebar listing current bills relating to med mal litigation: The Seattle Times: Sorting out medical-malpractice issues

The article mentions a new study released yesterday by the state Office of Insurance Commissioner that presents data on closed medical malpractice claims in the last 10 years (July 1994 to June 2004). The Insurance Commissioner's press release summarizes:

• The number of medical malpractice claims increased at an annual rate of 4.9 percent.
• The average amount of compensation per claim increased at an annual rate of 4.1 percent.
• Twenty-seven percent of the claims were closed with an indemnity (compensation) payment to a claimant.
• Sixty-one percent of the claims were closed with defense costs, such as attorney or expert witness fees.
• 3,248 claims were closed without any compensation payments or defense costs.
• Two percent of the total paid claims resulted in compensation payments of over $1 million.
• Claims with defense costs increased at an annual rate of 5.3 percent.
• Defense costs increased at an annual rate of 6.4 percent.
• Sixty-seven percent of the claims that incurred defense costs resulted in no compensation payment.
• Of the 10,073 claims, 50 were decided by a jury in favor of the plaintiff.
  

Categories: med-mal, initiatives, Office-of-the-Insurance-Commissioner, empirical-studies, news